400 grafts by Dr. Vikram Jayaprakash. Poor results?

[James]

I had 400 graft FUE procedure with Dr. Vikram Jayaprakash at the Knudsen Clinic in April 2021. He asked me about my goals and I told him I wanted the small patch on my left temple to be the same density as the rest of my head, and I wanted to be able to wear my normally swept to the side, as for some time I have only middle parted my hair to hide the loss. As I only have minor hair loss and have been on both Finasteride and Oral Minoxidil for some time I thought this would be fine. Since I had the transplant I have had very poor growth and it appears he has planted some very thick double and triple grafts right at the front of the hairline and temple. I'm so disappointed and depressed by the result and mostly either middle part my hair or wear a hat or beanie nowadays. I actually preferred how it looked before the procedure, at least it looked natural. Everyone I tell about this say I should have gone overseas but it's only a little procedure, how do you mess it up so badly? Anyway I think the 400 graft estimate was far too low, especially since only 300 went into the left temple which is my problem area, and 100 into the right temple which had a small amount lost too. I'm at 6 months now but anyone who says I'm randomly going to have a boost of growth is fooling themselves. Any advice or comments would be appreciated! I'll try to post before photos and procedure photos but if there's anything specific you want let me know. Thanks!

 

[James]

Procedure photos and before photos.

[Melvin- Admin]

Honestly it’s not that bad, pretty simple fix. Have you consulted with other surgeons to fix it?

[James]

1 hour ago, Melvin- Moderator said:

Honestly it’s not that bad, pretty simple fix. Have you consulted with other surgeons to fix it?

I can't leave Australia atm because of COVID and honestly would prefer not to go overseas as I don't like flying. I'm supposed to have a follow-up with Dr. Jayaprakash in a few weeks but I bet he's going to say it's a good result and "my expectations are too high".

[JDEE0]

22 minutes ago, James said:

I can't leave Australia atm because of COVID and honestly would prefer not to go overseas as I don't like flying. I'm supposed to have a follow-up with Dr. Jayaprakash in a few weeks but I bet he's going to say it's a good result and "my expectations are too high".

It's no disaster by any means, but it's just the result of pretty terrible planning and poor skill really. I know people like their channel on YouTube and it is a decent resource for people, but they're (Vikram and Knudsen) neither established nor particularly skilled HT surgeons.

It's an easy fix, but god don't go back there or to any other place in Aus for that matter as you don't have any decent options in the country. Whether you like flying or not, you're gonna need to go abroad if you want it sorted properly, if it's such a big issue then just get some valium or something and KO yourself for the duration of the flight. This is for the rest of your life remember, so leave it as is for now if you're unwilling to travel and wait until you're prepared to do so is my advice. 

[James]

4 minutes ago, JDEE0 said:

It's no disaster by any means, but it's just the result of pretty terrible planning and poor skill really. I know people like their channel on YouTube and it is a decent resource for people, but they're (Vikram and Knudsen) neither established nor particularly skilled HT surgeons.

It's an easy fix, but god don't go back there or to any other place in Aus for that matter as you don't have any decent options in the country. Whether you like flying or not, you're gonna need to go abroad if you want it sorted properly, if it's such a big issue then just get some valium or something and KO yourself for the duration of the flight. This is for the rest of your life remember, so leave it as is for now if you're unwilling to travel and wait until you're prepared to do so is my advice. 

Any places you might recommend? 

[JDEE0]

This list has most of my recommendations in it (from and including Ximena Vila onwards are all great, I wouldn't chose any before here though).

However, most are Europe, so very far from you. I'd recommend Eugenix as they're India which is probably the closest to you (and they're a top notch clinic). 

[Britanium]

@GatsbyIs very knowledgeable for Oz. I know he won’t recommend anybody there. 

[Britanium]

I would also say Eugenix, here is the forums recommended list:

https://www.hairtransplantnetwork.com/Consult-a-Physician/hair-transplant-surgeons.asp?sr=HRN-MOB

 

[Gatsby]

James can I ask how old you are? Unfortunatley for us Aussies there are no options when it comes to state of the art hair transplant surgery. I live in Melbourne and Knudsen bought the business off Dr Richard Shiell who was a pioneer in Australia decades ago with (out dated) punch graft surgery. Richard Shiell actually did some repair work in removing part of a hair transplant that I should never had been accepted for. Unfortunately the ethics of the long retired Dr Shiell did not flow on to Knudsen and Vikram. Dr Vikram will simply tell you that the doubles and triples are what you see in nature which is completely BS. I live in Melbourne and over the past 37 years I have had consultations with all of the so called 'top doctors' here and it is a scam when compared to the work being carried out overseas. If you type in to Google  'Vikram Jayaprakash' 'New Zealand' and 'Fraud' you will know what I am talking about when it comes to the lack of ethics in Australia.

That aside on a positive note you are extremely fortunate that you have only had a very minor amount of grafts transplanted in the hairline temple area. You have a great head of hair and you are able to tolerate finasteride! As Melvin has said your problems are an easy fix (and your transplant problem is a very common one). However don't even consider letting anyone touch your scalp here. Look at the recommended doctors who are excellent in repair work from this forum. Above all though you really need to let your surgery heal for at least 12 months before you go near it, let alone evaluate it. It requires a year for the scaring, etc to settle. You are more than welcome to DM and I wish you all the best!

[Gatsby]

Also @Jamesyou will be aware that Australia is commencing Qantas flights overseas next month to the UK, USA and by March we will be flying to India.

[James]

53 minutes ago, Gatsby said:

James can I ask how old you are? Unfortunatley for us Aussies there are no options when it comes to state of the art hair transplant surgery. I live in Melbourne and Knudsen bought the business off Dr Richard Shiell who was a pioneer in Australia decades ago with (out dated) punch graft surgery. Richard Shiell actually did some repair work in removing part of a hair transplant that I should never had been accepted for. Unfortunately the ethics of the long retired Dr Shiell did not flow on to Knudsen and Vikram. Dr Vikram will simply tell you that the doubles and triples are what you see in nature which is completely BS. I live in Melbourne and over the past 37 years I have had consultations with all of the so called 'top doctors' here and it is a scam when compared to the work being carried out overseas. If you type in to Google  'Vikram Jayaprakash' 'New Zealand' and 'Fraud' you will know what I am talking about when it comes to the lack of ethics in Australia.

That aside on a positive note you are extremely fortunate that you have only had a very minor amount of grafts transplanted in the hairline temple area. You have a great head of hair and you are able to tolerate finasteride! As Melvin has said your problems are an easy fix (and your transplant problem is a very common one). However don't even consider letting anyone touch your scalp here. Look at the recommended doctors who are excellent in repair work from this forum. Above all though you really need to let your surgery heal for at least 12 months before you go near it, let alone evaluate it. It requires a year for the scaring, etc to settle. You are more than welcome to DM and I wish you all the best!

Thanks for all the info mate, really helpful. I just turned 22 when I got the surgery around 6 months ago. I'm just really concerned about how many doubles and triples were placed on the hairline and less about the density as I know that can easily be fixed later on. I even remember in the surgery he told me my donor yeilded mostly triple grafts and they had to dissect a lot of them into singles. I wonder where they put them. Anyway I still have my follow up with him soon but I don't think I'll be going back from everything I've been told. Dr Hassons work looks unreal so I'm considering him. The way I wear my hair right now I don't really mind waiting as you probably can't even tell I've lost a hair, but I'm just upset that it looks unnatural now as I would've taken natural recession over a botched surgery. Again thanks for the reply man.

[Britanium]

H&W are pretty much in most people’s top 3. Vikram is pretty much the opposite end of the spectrum. You can get this fixed and H&W are a very good choice. We all learn from our mistakes. 

[Gatsby]

If you just turned 22 and he accepted you as a hair transplant candidate then that really makes me angry! 😠 It just shows that Vikram should be banned (again) from practicing. Your hair looks good and with the amount of hair you have you can hide it well. Again if you choose to repair the grafts please do lots of research on the best doctors for this overseas. If it's any consolation I was butchered at 18! If you have any questions please stay with the forum as it is incredibly supportive and all the best!

[Britanium]

Exactly that. Ethical Drs would have declined you as a patient (under 25 no hair loss) however it’s more than possible a decent clinic would carry out a minor procedure (repair) in a years time. 

[James]

7 minutes ago, Gatsby said:

If you just turned 22 and he accepted you as a hair transplant candidate then that really makes me angry! 😠 It just shows that Vikram should be banned (again) from practicing. Your hair looks good and with the amount of hair you have you can hide it well. Again if you choose to repair the grafts please do lots of research on the best doctors for this overseas. If it's any consolation I was butchered at 18! If you have any questions please stay with the forum as it is incredibly supportive and all the best!

 

3 minutes ago, JohnAC71 said:

Exactly that. Ethical Drs would have declined you as a patient (under 25 no hair loss) however it’s more than possible a decent clinic would carry out a minor procedure (repair) in a years time. 

I have never left the country before so it is quite daunting to me but will thoroughly research my options. Thank you.

[JDEE0]

You have a really good head of hair as @Gatsbysays.

I just want to say though that him saying that he couldn't find any singles to extract is a load of rubbish. You most certainly do have lots of singles even if you're mostly doubles/triples etc. Considering that for a full hairline reconstruction lots of surgeons only use 5-600 single grafts, you probably needed less than 100 for your small area. To say he can't find that amount on your virgin scalp is really just a bizarre statement. 

I mean, not that there's anything particularly 'wrong' with slicing grafts to create them singles, it just confuses me he even said that, and it would generally be much more optimal to harvest the finer singles that nature provides in certain areas of the scalp rather than splicing triples etc as these will probably be coarser by default.

Sounds like some sort of cop out to excuse the lack of singles in the hairline before you even began.

[James]

1 minute ago, JDEE0 said:

You have a really good head of hair as @Gatsbysays.

I just want to say though that him saying that he couldn't find any singles to extract is a load of rubbish. You most certainly do have lots of singles even if you're mostly doubles/triples etc. Considering that for a full hairline reconstruction lots of surgeons only use 5-600 single grafts, you probably needed less than 100 for your small area. To say he can't find that amount on your virgin scalp is really just a bizarre statement. 

I mean, not that there's anything particularly 'wrong' with slicing grafts to create them singles, it just confuses me he even said that, and it would generally be much more optimal to harvest the finer singles that nature provides in certain areas of the scalp rather than splicing triples etc as these will probably be coarser by default.

Sounds like some sort of cop out to excuse the lack of singles in the hairline before you even began.

Was quite strange indeed, I believe he said he only got maybe 30 singles if I remember correctly.

[Britanium]

7 minutes ago, James said:

 

I have never left the country before so it is quite daunting to me but will thoroughly research my options. Thank you.

Plenty of time to prepare ! And hey you could get a holiday out of it when you do decide 😉

[Britanium]

3 minutes ago, James said:

Was quite strange indeed, I believe he said he only got maybe 30 singles if I remember correctly.

I can’t even see 400 grafts have been implanted to be honest. I could be wrong though. 

[James]

2 minutes ago, JohnAC71 said:

I can’t even see 400 grafts have been implanted to be honest. I could be wrong though. 

I asked him to go a bit further back as I had started thinning slightly behind the initial hairline as you can kinda see in the first photo. Also keep in mind I only got 300 on that side and 100 on the other side.

[Britanium]

Have you got any pics of your donor area post op ? 

[James]

6 minutes ago, JohnAC71 said:

Have you got any pics of your donor area post op ? 

Only ones I could find.

[Britanium]

Honestly can’t see 400 grafts been taken and then placed. Which is a good thing really as it just means less have been wasted. Especially when I hear his nonsense experiences for having to create singles ? They had the whole donor area to find the singles etc they needed yet had to create them from multis ? This situation could have been a whole lot worse actually If you would have asked for more grafts.. 

[James]

2 minutes ago, JohnAC71 said:

Honestly can’t see 400 grafts been taken and then placed. Which is a good thing really as it just means less have been wasted. Especially when I hear his nonsense experiences for having to create singles ? They had the whole donor area to find the singles etc they needed yet had to create them from multis ? This situation could have been a whole lot worse actually If you would have asked for more grafts.. 

Guess it's better that way, but he made me pay $4500 AUD for it 😂